A&R Logistics Acquires Blue Water Plastic Transport

Chicago, IL, July 1, 2019 – A&R Logistics (“A&R” or the “Company”), North America’s largest provider of integrated dry bulk logistics solutions for the chemical and plastic industries, has acquired Blue Water Plastic Transport (“BWP”), a provider of specialty dry bulk transportation, logistics and warehousing services to plastics and chemical manufacturers, distributors, and recyclers.  

The acquisition of BWP further solidifies A&R’s leading geographic presence in the Midwestern U.S., expands its fleet of highly specialized tractors and trailers, and adds a best in-class-team to A&R’s large and growing family of drivers and operators.  A&R plans to maintain BWP’s operations in St. Clair, MI.

“On behalf of all of us at A&R, I am happy to welcome the BWP team into the A&R family,” said Mark Holden, CEO of A&R.  “We are excited to make BWP our company’s first acquisition since 2008, and we believe the benefits of this combination will be apparent to our employees, customers, and vendors.”

Konrad Salaber, Managing Director with Wind Point Partners, stated, “BWP is a great strategic acquisition that further enhances A&R’s scale and solidifies its market-leading density in the Midwest.  Acquisitions are a key focal point of our value creation plan for A&R, and we are excited to inaugurate our M&A program with the acquisition of BWP.”

Wind Point Partners acquired A&R in May of 2019 in partnership with Mark Holden, a veteran executive in the logistics space who previously led four separate investments to a successful sale or IPO.  Growing scale through acquisition is a cornerstone initiative for A&R, and BWP marks the Company’s first add-on under Wind Point’s ownership.  A&R’s acquisition strategy will continue to focus on acquiring companies that provide dry bulk transportation, warehousing and logistics services to producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics.  In addition, A&R seeks to expand into complementary services, including liquid chemical supply chain services.

Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses, with select prior investments including Dicom Transportation, STG Logistics, Valicor Environmental Services, RailWorks and AIR-serv.